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Fundamentals

Scheme fails if the skill fails. Start with tackle safety if you play tackle. Then the habits every position uses.

Flag vs tackle: if you are still in flag, skip the contact skills (tackle, shed, combo). Keep ball security, alignment, stance, pursuit angles, and communication.

Level

Stance and first step

Feet under you. Inside balls of the feet, not the heels.
Pad level: knees bent, chest over thighs, head up.
First step is a 6-inch power step, not a long lunge.
Offense: step to your gap. Defense: step to your gap. Same idea.

Common mistake. Leaning so far you fall forward, or standing so high you get moved.

Can you fire without resetting your feet? If not, the stance is wrong.

Ball security

Four points of pressure: hand over the point, forearm, ribcage, opposite hand when you are in traffic.
High and tight. Elbow in. Ball in the outside arm when you have a free hand.
Do not swing the ball. It is not a pump to make you faster.
Two hands in the hole and on contact.

Common mistake. The ball away from the body in the hole so a linebacker can punch it.

If you would not want someone hitting that arm, cover it.

Taking a handoff

Pocket: near elbow up, far arm under. The quarterback seats it.
Do not snatch. Receive, then lock.
Eyes to the hole, not the quarterback, once the ball is in.
Inside foot to the aiming point. One cut after that.

Common mistake. Watching the QB all the way through the mesh and running into the 3.

Near arm high, far arm low. Say it. Do it.

Giving a handoff (QB)

Seat the ball in the pocket. Do not float it.
Eyes on the mesh, not the line.
Get out of the mesh. You are in the 2’s path if you wait.
Carry the fake. The boot holds the backside end.

Common mistake. Riding the ball too deep so the 2 has to wait in the hole.

Put it in his stomach and get out of the way.

Recovering a fumble or muff

Fall on it first at youth. Cover, do not kick.
Scoop only when the ball is loose and you are unblocked and it is bouncing kindly.
Chin over the ball, wrap it, curl up.
Do not try to pick it up and run in a crowd.

Common mistake. Kicking at a live ball because you did not want to go to the ground.

Safety. Do not dive head-first at a pile. Go in with your shoulder and arms, head up.

If it is on the ground, you are on the ground with it.

Catching

Eyes through the ball. Watch it in.
Hands away from the body. Thumbs in above the waist, thumbs out below.
Tuck before you run.
If it is a jump ball, high-point it. Do not wait for it to come down on your chest.

Common mistake. Body-catching and then looking upfield before the tuck.

Hands first. Then the tuck. Then run.

Run blocking

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Hat through the numbers. Head up. See what you hit.
Short choppy steps after contact. Finish.
Hands inside, elbows in.
Drive the man the call asked for — out, down, or back. Do not catch him.

Common mistake. Lunging, grabbing outside, and falling off on the second step.

Safety. Heads-up. Never helmet-first into a defender. You block with your body and hands, not the crown.

Stay between your man and the ball. Keep your feet.

Combo / double-team to linebacker

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Four hands on the down guy first.
Hip to hip. Do not create a seam in the middle.
The covered lineman stays until the uncovered can climb — or the call names who climbs.
Call the linebacker: “Mike!” so both of you know.

Common mistake. Both climbing and the 3-tech walking into the hole.

Two on one, then one of you goes to the linebacker. Not both at once.

Pass set and punch

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Kick with the outside foot, replace with the inside. Short, quick.
Punch on the rusher’s numbers, thumbs up, independent hands.
Chin tucked, eyes on the throat. Do not lunge.
Anchor when he bull-rushes. Drop the hips, do not lean back.

Common mistake. Catching the rusher on your chest with no punch, then holding.

Stay in front of your man. Hands on him, feet alive.

Shed a block

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Hands on the blocker first. Shock and separate.
Rip or swim only after your hands are on him — and only if your coach teaches it at your age.
Get your hips free. The tackle is not over until your hips are through.
Keep the gap. Shedding into the next gap is a win for the offense.

Common mistake. Trying to run around the block and losing the gap you were supposed to have.

Put your hands on him and get off. Do not hide behind the block.

Leverage

Inside shade or outside shade. Pick one. You cannot be both.
Force players: outside leverage. The ball should not bounce outside you.
Alley / spill players: inside leverage. Knock it back to the force.
If you lose leverage, you lost the play even if you made contact.

Common mistake. Head-up on a kick-out block with no rule, then getting hooked.

Stand on the side your coach told you. Stay there.

Watch the hips

Watch the belt buckle, not the jersey and not the ball in the backfield.
The hips tell you if he is coming or going. The ball lies on play-action.
A cut is a hip dip. Break on that, not on a head fake.
In coverage, the hips turn before the break. Mirror that.

Common mistake. Flying to the mesh on 24 and getting beaten by the boot, or sitting on the boot and getting run over.

Look at the middle of the man. That is where he has to go.

Pursuit angles

Run to where he will be if he keeps going, with enough depth that a cutback still finds you.
The deepest defender is the last cutback. Everyone else has a landmark.
Do not chase in a line. Chase in a curve that still works if he plants.
Come to balance five yards from him. Do not sprint through the tackle.

Common mistake. Running to the ball instead of to the path, then watching him cut behind you.

If he turns, you should still be in front of him. That is the angle.

14 · Required

Tackle safety

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Football is a wrap-up game, not a highlight-hit game.
See what you hit. Eyes through the numbers.
Head up or to the side. Never down.
Cheek to hip, shoulder through the thigh. Arms wrap. Drive the legs.
If you cannot break down and wrap, take an angle and force him out of bounds.
Stop immediately on the whistle. Tell a coach if your head, neck, or helmet feels wrong.

Common mistake. Leading with the crown, leaving your feet, or hitting a player who is already down.

Safety. Helmet-first contact is illegal and unsafe at every age. We tackle with the shoulder and the wrap.

At 10–11 the job is to wrap him up and stay on your feet. Not a clip. Not a launch.

Come to balance before you arrive. Short steps, hips down, eyes up.
Head up or to the side — never down, never through the numbers with the helmet.
Cheek to hip. Shoulder through the thigh. Arms wrap, grab cloth, run your feet.
If you are late or off-balance, take the angle and push him out. A wrap you cannot finish is still a win if he is out of bounds.
The whistle ends the play. Do not finish after it.
If your head, neck, or helmet feels wrong — dizziness, headache, something “off” — tell a coach or a parent the same period. You do not diagnose it.

Safety. Flag vs tackle: if you are still in flag, skip this contact. Keep pursuit angles and coming to balance. Do not practice hits.

Tackle progression

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Break down: short choppy steps, feet alive, eyes on the belt.
Sink: hips down, chest up.
Shoulder through the thigh. Wrap. Grab cloth.
Drive your legs on contact. Finish on top of him, not past him.

Common mistake. Launching, diving at shoes, or hitting with the crown of the helmet.

Safety. Heads-up. Head across or to the side, never helmet-first, never spear, never grab the facemask. Youth: wrap and drive, not a highlight hit.

Wrap him up and run your feet. That is a tackle.

Open-field and sideline tackle

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Come to balance. You cannot tackle what you run past.
Sideline: keep your head in front. Use the line as the second man.
Do not dive. A missed dive is a touchdown.
If he is faster, take away the inside and make him go out of bounds.

Common mistake. Leaving your feet in space because you were afraid to miss standing up.

Safety. Same heads-up rule. A sideline tackle is not a chance to put him in the bench. Wrap and turn him out.

Slow down, wrap, push him out if you are near the line.

Forming the wall / coming to balance

Flag players: skip the contact version of this. Keep the rest.

Before contact, gather. Feet under you, hips down.
A wall is several players coming to balance on a line, not one player flying.
Do not leave a lane between you and the next man that a back can fit.
On kickoff coverage this is a lane. On defense this is a fit.

Common mistake. Sprinting through the returner and leaving a hole the size of a door.

Slow down before you hit. Fast to the spot, under control at the spot.

Communication

Have two or three words and use them: “pass,” “stay,” “bingo,” “Mike,” whatever your coach named.
No silent defense. If you see motion, say it.
Point and talk. A point without a word is a suggestion.
Offense: echo the call in the huddle. If you did not hear it, ask before you break.

Common mistake. Assuming the Mike saw what you saw.

Say the call out loud. Say “pass” if they drop back. Say “ball” if it is on the ground.

Pre-snap checklist

Count the box. How many run fitters vs how many blockers.
Find the tight end. That is often the strength.
Check motion. If one guy is moving, someone has to go with him or pass him off.
Offense: count who has a hand in the dirt. 4-4 vs 6-2 changes the tight end’s man.

Common mistake. Lining up and waiting for the snap with no picture.

Look at the other side once before you get in your stance.

Conditioning that matters

Short-area burst. Ten yards, change direction, ten more.
Hydrate before you are thirsty. Sip through practice, do not chug at the cramp.
Cramps: stop, stretch, salt and water as your trainer says. Do not “run it out” until you fall.
Sleep is a skill. A tired player false-starts and misses tackles.

Common mistake. Saving your legs in individual, then having nothing in the last period.

Safety. Heat is not toughness. If you feel dizzy, stop and tell an adult. Helmets off in long huddles in the heat if your coach allows.

Water. Burst. Then do it again. That is football tired, not mile-run tired.

Equipment that fits

Helmet: snug, no rocking, chinstrap buckled. Two-point or four-point as issued. Wear it.
Shoulder pads: cover the shoulder, not sitting on your biceps.
Mouthguard: in, not hanging. A snapped mouthguard is not in.
Cleats: taped or tied. Report a pain in the foot, knee, or head early — the same day, not after the game.

Common mistake. A loose helmet “so you can hear.” You can hear with a fitted helmet. You cannot protect a loose one.

Safety. Any hit to the head, any dizziness, any headache that is new: tell a coach or a parent. You do not decide if it is a concussion. An adult does.

If it does not fit, tell someone before practice, not at the snap.

Practice habits

Stand in the right huddle spot. The call is faster if you are already there.
Know the call before the snap. Echo it.
Next-play memory: the last play is over. The next one has a new assignment.
When the whistle blows, get to the next line. Tempo is a habit.

Common mistake. Walking to the huddle talking about the miss while the next call is being said.

Eyes on the coach when he is talking. That is the whole skill.

Sportsmanship and officials

Play dead-ball. When the whistle goes, you stop.
Do not argue a flag. Ask the coach later. The official is not going to pick it up because you talked.
Help a player up. Their color does not matter.
If you get a personal foul after a play, you just moved the ball the wrong way.

Common mistake. Standing over someone you just tackled. That is a 15-yard play you handed them.

Be tough on the snap. Be decent after it.